1. Field
The present invention is in the technical area of information retrieval, and pertains more specifically to enhanced user experience based on context in retrieval.
2. Description of Related Art
One broad application of the present invention is in help systems. In the current art help systems are typically implemented in the source code of a product by insertion of unique IDs in source code to serve as connections to correspondingly marked technical documentation in a co-packaged help system. This solution is burdensome and inelegant. The burden arises in that help systems produced this way is generally bundled with the associated software deliverable. This system also generally calls for full clone and augmentation with each update to the software. Furthermore, software developers are called to closely coordinate development with help system producers. It also calls for separate localization efforts after a base help system is produced.
What is clearly needed in the art is a context-sensitive system in which the help system need not be bundled with the product, but may be accessed, for example, through a browser, initiated by a user of the product, at a web site dedicated to managing the help system, and in which help information is presented to the product user based on context, such that the information delivered may be varied depending on the context.